Anyone know what the purpose of the very light metal support brace in the rear is for?

The shop that put my XFR exhaust on my 3.0 AWD removed it ( I was it on the bench, I saw it) but seems not to have reinstalled it.

Any idea what it it for, It;s not very sturdy looking so I am not sure what effect it would have on the suspension?




Also, in looking to see what it woudl be to buy a new one, I saw this listed as a rear strut tower support brace 2009-2011 XF.

I guess the newer cars dropped these

 

In the Workshop Manual it's called the "single brace", see the attached pages from the Manual - #11.
I have no idea what it does other than act as additional suspension "stiffener" and the Manual is no help.
It's not the same thing as the strut brace which came standard on the XFR and a few other XFs but not the cooking models, that strut brace is mounted in the boot/truck under the carpet up by the back seat and is a fairly solid piece of metal.
Your pic shows an after-market strut brace which I doubt will fit your XF.

 

Yeah, calling the shop today to see if its still laying around so I can re-install.The dang thing is 100 bucks. Actually looks like a shelf bracket from Ikea

I think it may not have fit with the XFR exhaust.installed on my car since the exhaust not designed for .
the AWD maybe

My 13XF AWD doesn't have the #10 Cross-brace either.
I am wondering if adding that ( if it didn't have it to begin with) would be a positive or not.

 

Hi All,
Would anybody know the part number for the single brace Part #7 above please? Thanks in advance